‘Father of internet’ speaks out against govt demand for back doors in encryption

Internet pioneer Vint Cerf said Monday that creating defects in encryption systems for law enforcement, often known as “back doors,” was “super, super risky” and not the “right answer.”

Cerf, recognized as a “father of the internet,”
currently working at Google, told an audience at the National
Press Club that he understood law enforcement’s desire to avoid
being locked away from evidence that could be used to prevent
crimes. He went on to say, however, that providing such access
raises constitutional and legal questions.

“The Congress is forced now to struggle with that, and
they’re going to have to listen to these various arguments about
protection and safety on the one hand and preservation and
privacy and confidentiality on the other,” Cerf said, as
reported by The Hill.

The Obama administration has been trying to force companies like
Google and Apple to create defects in encryption so the FBI and
other government agencies can gain access to people’s
information; this despite mounting criticism over the plan – a
criticism that’s shared by Cerf.

Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden
revealed a program codenamed
“Bullrun,” which showed that the government penetrated
encryption securities through the use of “supercomputers,
technical trickery, court orders and behind-the-scenes
persuasion.”

Since those disclosures, Silicon Valley industries have been
working feverishly to adopt encryption technology beyond the
reach of law enforcement agencies that haven’t first obtained a
warrant, and to appease customers worried about their privacy.
Law enforcement sees it differently, however.

“If this becomes the norm, I suggest to you that homicide
cases could be stalled, suspects walked free, child exploitation
not discovered and prosecuted,” FBI Director James Comey
warned in October, reported The Hill.

For tech companies, though, it is not a question of creating
“back doors” or “front doors” – it’s just a
matter of secure technology and unsecure technology.

Last week, a bipartisan group of legislators attempted to add an
amendment prohibiting the government from forcing companies to
build back doors into their devices to a bill reforming the
National Security Agency. Despite full support from House
Judiciary Committee members, the measure was dropped over
concerns it would sink the underlying bill.